14Chapter 1 Yearning for Adventure
Toadette slowly picked at her food. She had made it herself; macaroni and cheese. She had made this meal a million times, and had eaten it a billion times at least. While it was supposed to be a comfort food, it didn't bring her any comfort. All that it brought her was boredom.
"Hey Toadette!"
Toadette lifted her head and saw her friend, Blue Toad. The bespectacled intellectual had a book tucked under his right arm. While Blue Toad was no stranger to carrying books, what really interested Toadette was the fact that this book was much thinner than the ones that her scholarly friend was used to carrying. In fact, it looked to be about ten pages at the maximum!
"What is that?" Toadette asked. Blue Toad smiled.
"It's a very special book!" He displayed the cover to her. The title read The Adventures of The Toad Brigade. Suddenly, the reason why Blue Toad had been carrying it was revealed to the pink capped mushroom girl. She smiled happily.
"Your guys' book finally got published!" she exclaimed. Blue Toad nodded happily.
"Yes it did!" he flipped to the front page. "And I've gotta say, I think it turned out beautifully!"
Toadette looked at the picture book's illustrations. Blue Toad was a member of the Toad Brigade. He went on all sorts of adventures with the other Brigade members; Yellow Toad, Bank Toad, Purple Toad, and Captain Toad. They were known across the Mushroom Kingdom, so much to the point that the Princess had given them all metals of honor. Their adventures were always ones of excitement and wonder, which is the reason why the Brigade had decided to collectivelty work on a book detailing all the adventures they had so far.
"It is beautiful!" Toadette said as she looked at the first illustrations. The illustrator had used water color paints to color in the characters and the backgrounds. Toadette really appreciated this, as the soft colors were soothing to her eyes. They looked so soft that she had a feeling if she touched the page, it would feel like a baby blanket.
"Yeah," Blue Toad said with a sigh. He softly closed the book. "I think that this deserves a spot in the hall of fame!"
The Hall of Fame was Toadette's guest bedroom. At least, it had been Toadette's guest bedroom. After she had become friends with Blue Toad, she had offered to turn it into a room where the Brigade could keep all of their trophies. The room was packed with all sorts of interesting macguffins, from a sword that glowed with purple fire to a fire flower made out of pure platinum.
"I think you're right." Toadette pushed her dinner to the side and followed Blue Toad to the Hall of Fame. When she got there, she opened the door carefully, almost reverently. She walked into the room with the same attitude, as she knew that this stuff was precious. Not only was it of a rare value, but it also held sentimental value among the Brigade members as well.
Blue Toad gently placed the picture book onto a dias in the far left hand corned of the room. He and Toadette stood in silence for a minute. Then, Blue Toad turned to his friend.
"Toadette, there's something I would like to talk to you about."
Toadette turned to Blue Toad. Blue Toad removed his glasses and polished them with a handkerchief.
"Have you ever heard of a sandbird?"
Toadette's eyes grew wide.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I have!" SHe said. "They are supposed to be one of the largest birds in the world."
"They are," Blue Toad said with a nod. "They have wingspans they can stretch up to a mile long, and that's when they are a baby." Blue Toad put his glasses back on. "But not only are they large, they are also rare. They are on the endangered species list."
"They are?" asked Toadette.
"They are indeed," said Blue Toad. "There are only twenty left."
Toadette's jaw dropped. Twenty left? In existence?
"That's awful!" Toadette said.
"It is," Blue Toad said. He then smiled. "Which is why the brigade is going to take action."
Toadette felt confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there have been reports of a sandbird sighting in World 2. Now, this part is just a rumor, but they are people who say that sandbird has laid eggs. Now, the Brigade wants to find the eggs so that we can build a sanctuary for them. That way, they can be protected from their natural predators."
Toadette felt curious.
"What are their natural predators, exactly?" she asked.
Blue Toad hesitated for just a second.
"Dragons."
"Dragons!?" asked Toadette.
"Yes; dragons," said Blue Toad. Toadette looked at her friend in concern.
"That sounds dangerous."
"It is. That's why I decided with the rest of the Brigade that we can't do this on our own. We need help, preferably from someone who is a very good friend."
Toadette's eyes grew wider than coconuts.
"You mean...me?"
Blue Toad smiled.
"You always said you wanted to go on an adventure with us."
Toadette squealed in delight.
"Oh thank you, Blue! Thank you so much!"
AN: Happy birthday PinkRose0106! I hope you are enjoying your present so far.
